In this closing keynote of the OpenAthens conference 2018 I discuss whether as a sector we have failed our users in how we currently provide access to scholarly information, and I describe the British Library's response - the change management portfolio 'Everything Available'.

1. Making ‘Everything Available’ –
Transforming the (online) services and
experience for British Library users
Dr Torsten Reimer
Head of Research Services
Torsten.Reimer@bl.uk / @torstenreimer
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8357-9422
OpenAthens Conference, 22/03/2018

2. www.bl.uk 2
Why are we (libraries, publishers, you, me) here?
To help people to
– Find information
– Access information
– Use information
– Share knowledge
• Society relies on us
to ‘get it right’ so we
can build a better
world for everyone.

3. www.bl.uk 3
Have we failed our users with regards to content access?

4. www.bl.uk 4
Other industries have found solutions

5. www.bl.uk 5
Access (management) and open access challenges
• A fully open world has no need for access management
• (>50% of UK journal articles available openly within a year of
publication in 2016, according to UUK report)
• Even a full OA world would have challenges:
– discovery (let’s not forget monographs!)
– and preservation

6. www.bl.uk 6
Before there is access there has to be discovery

7. www.bl.uk 7
Libraries in a changing environment
• Research is digital, are we?
• Are we still needed for
discovery?
• In an open world, do we still
have a role for access to
digital content?
• Will print content become
invisible?
• Global content grows so fast,
our collections are shrinking
(relatively)

8. www.bl.uk 8
Developing a (British Library) response
• Sets our vision for the BL to be
the most open, creative and
innovative institution of its kind
in the world
Living
Knowledge
• Defines the strategy to lead
the transformation of the
Library’s services and
contemporary collections in
support of research
Research
Services
• Delivers the research services
strategy as a cross-Library
effort, providing new and
improved services
Everything
Available

9. www.bl.uk 9
From analogue to (open) digital model
Other content
BL collections
Open Access
Digital, onsite
access
Digital, remote
access
BL collections

10. www.bl.uk 10
Elements of the emerging research services strategy
Bring content to
users and their
favoured tools
Assist researchers to
find content and
extract information
from it From Local
collections to Global
content – everything
Discoverable &
Accessible
From Just-in-Case to
Just-in-Time content
provision
Sustainable global
knowledge
environment
Make 3rd party
content available
relevant for research
Shared Collection
Management
Services

11. www.bl.uk 11
Helping users to find information
• Help users to not just search documents but find
information (e.g. text and data mining)
• Search across external material becomes more
important
• Open access discovery and ‘non-traditional’ formats
• Achieve better discovery by enabling content
creators to share more effectively (e.g. through
persistent identifiers)

12. www.bl.uk 12
Let’s think about a unified access workflow
Content is open
access?
• On-site: access
• Remote: access
Content free to read
online?
• On-site: access
• Remote: access
Digital content with
remote licence?
• On-site: access
• Remote: access
Digital content
without remote
licence?
• On-site: access
• Remote: no access
Legal deposit
content?
• On-site: access
• Remote: no access
Content can be
procured just-in-
time?
• On-site: access
• Remote: access
Other paid-for option
available?
• On-site: access
• Remote: access
Print-only copy
available?
• On-site: access
• Remote: digitisation on
demand
No copy available at
all?
• On-site: no access
• Remote: no access

13. www.bl.uk 13
Thinking about user experience (2017 Bunnyfoot study)
• Worked with an external company (Bunnyfoot) to answer three questions:
• Methodology:
– Review of comparator websites
– Usability testing of BL website and catalogue
– Contextual research on physical journey to retrieve and research from requested
items and perceptions of process to gain access to print and digital items
1. What is the current discovery experience like for users of the Library?
2. How easy is it to move from discovery to retrieving the item for viewing?
3. How does the British Library compare to other similar institutions?

14. www.bl.uk 14
Example of issues identified in the study
• Most participants wanted a Google-like search
experience when using the catalogues.
• Non-Readers expected a simple Google-like
interface that would search everything.
• Participants struggled to understand the
difference between searching the main catalogue,
the website and Explore Further.
• All non-academics who use the site search bar did
not find the main catalogue without prompting.
• All non-academics and some academics observed
modified their search by amending the search
query rather than using the filters.
Resulted in over 60 recommendations to
improving the discovery experience
It is a daunting prospect, I haven't worked out my approach yet
– I have to figure out what manuscripts exist… As long as
something is in the main catalogue, it's easy.
User testing: current Reader
on researching manuscripts
It doesn't look any different, so I don't know what Explore
Further has done for my search.
User testing: current Reader
At this point I’d go back to Google.
User testing: potential Reader

15. www.bl.uk 15
Concluding thoughts
• Discovery and access are
enablers of progress –
therefore we have a huge
responsibility to society
• We will fail without putting user
experience at the heart of what
we do
• Let’s work together